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United Nations Children’s Fund Telephone +382 20 224 277
Vladike Danila 28 Facsimile +382 20 224 278
81 000 Podgorica, Crna Gora www.unicef.org/montenegro
UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN’S FUND
REQUIRES
International Consultancy
For the provision of Technical Assistance in the reform of Centres for Social Work
(The Social Welfare and Child Care System Reform Project IPA 2010)
Minimum Requirements:
Advanced university degree in Social Work, Law or a related field;
At least 7 years of experience and expertise in the area of social and child care system
legislative and policy reform;
Knowledge of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and relevant international
standards in the area of social work and alternative care;
Familiarity with the local context in Montenegro in particular with respect to the social
protection and child care reform will be considered as an advantage;
Previous work experience with UNICEF will be considered as an advantage;
Excellent command of English language, both spoken and written;
Excellent command of Montenegrin language, both spoken and written;
Strong communication and writing skills.
Terms of Reference for the position and P11 form can be found on the website
www.unicef.org/montenegro or picked up at UNICEF Montenegro office.
If you are a dynamic person who would like to contribute to delivering of long-lasting, positive
changes for Montenegro’s children, please apply with a CV, P11 form and cover letter by email,
mail or fax quoting the position “Consultancy for Technical assistance in the reform of
Centres for Social Work” to the following address:
UNICEF, Vladike Danila 28, 81 000 Podgorica
Fax: +382 20 224 278
Email: podgorica@unicef.org
Closing date for applications is Monday, May 28th, 2012 C.O.B. (16.30h).
Only short listed candidates will be contacted for interview.
UNICEF IS A SMOKE FREE ENVIRONMENT
United Nations Children’s Fund Telephone +382 20 224 277
Vladike Danila 28 Facsimile +382 20 224 278
81 000 Podgorica, Crna Gora www.unicef.org/montenegro
Terms of Reference
Provision of Technical Assistance in the reform of Centres for Social Work
(The Social Welfare and Child Care System Reform Project IPA 2010)
Background and Context
The Government of Montenegro (the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare - MoLSW), is in the
process of implementing the comprehensive Child Care System Reform Project (henceforth the
Project) with technical assistance of UNICEF Montenegro. The Project is an integral part (3rd
component) of a broader initiative -- the “Social Welfare and Child Care System Reform –
Enhancing Social Inclusion” Project which is being implemented through a partnership between the
Government of Montenegro (MoLSW and the Ministry of Education and Sport) and UN agencies in
Montenegro (UNICEF and UNDP) with the financial assistance from the European Union (IPA
2010). Other partners of the overall the Social Inclusion Project include the Ministry of Health, the
Ministry of Finance and other line ministries, institutions, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs),
the Statistical Office of Montenegro (MONSTAT), international organizations and partners,
communities, children themselves and their families.
The Child Care System Reform Project facilitates the continuation of the reform process in the area
of child and social protection building on already achieved results but with a clearer picture of the
system gaps and issues that need to be addressed. Long lasting efforts are to be made by key project
partners to transform the social and child protection system and build institutional capacities in
Montenegro to support vulnerable children and families, strengthen biological family and establish
a range of alternative family and community based services for children in need. Consequently, the
main project activities focus on the areas of law reform; development of child protection standards
and monitoring mechanisms; capacity building of the social welfare, education and health sectors to
prevent institutionalization; deinstitutionalization and transformation of existing child residential
institutions; the development of family and community based alternatives for children in need; and
awareness raising.
At the legislation and policy level, the Project aims to support the Government of Montenegro in
drafting of the new Law on Social and Child Protection to ensure that it is fully harmonized with
international standards and that all rights of vulnerable groups are guaranteed according to
international instruments. Further support will focus on developing secondary legislation and
standards to ensure a pluralism of service providers, variety of quality services, licensing
procedures and a control of service quality. Minimum standards will be developed for a number of
existing and new child protection services, including: Fostering, Day Care Centers for Children
with Disabilities, Small Group Homes, Shelters for Children Victims of Violence, Minimum
Standards for Institutional Care and Protection of Children Temporarily Placed in Child Care
Institutions. In addition, standards will be developed for Centres for Social Work (CSWs) as the
standardization of their work is of vital importance for the reform of the system.
There are 10 CSWs in Montenegro with field units which provide services for children and families
from all 21 municipalities across the country. Although CSWs have a relatively good territorial
coverage of Montenegro, in most CSWs the staff are poorly resourced and overburdened with
administrative tasks and functions. According to a recent assessment, the share of personnel trained
to work directly with clients of the total number of workers is on average 32.4%, meaning that only
United Nations Children’s Fund Telephone +382 20 224 277
Vladike Danila 28 Facsimile +382 20 224 278
81 000 Podgorica, Crna Gora www.unicef.org/montenegro
every third employee is actually trained to work directly with clients and to provide assistance.
Considering that a whole set of legal documents has been adopted, which present new challenges
before the staff in CSWs and call for significant improvements in the professional knowledge and
skills and expansion in the scope of work, a significantly different ratio is needed: a minimum
requirement would be to have, per every two professional employees working directly with clients,
one employee doing other types of work including legal affairs, planning and development, and
administrative and other tasks.
A recent report also highlighted that although the centres were often the only link to assistance and
support for extremely vulnerable families and children, staff had poorly defined job descriptions
and lacked clear authorities and structures for case-management, limiting the assistance they could
offer, which was overly reliant on placement in residential institutions and the provision of financial
benefits. This implies that the overall practice at CSWs does not stimulate activation,
empowerment, and strengthening the capacity of people and communities to use their own forces
and natural resources when faced with adversity. Instead of promoting independence, CSWs more
frequently promote passivity and long-term dependence on already limited social resources.
Another issue that has been identified by experts is the cooperation between CSWs and the local
government. There are examples of good cooperation in several municipalities where more
proactive methods of work with beneficiaries are employed. However, this is not the case in other
municipalities. When it comes to development of services and meeting the needs of the citizens, it is
unclear what exactly should be the task of the center, and what of the local government. Closer
cooperation between CSWs and local government would stimulate closer relationships with the
citizens, enable the development of services which provide the most comprehensive and sustainable
response to the needs of the vulnerable groups, help avoid uncoordinated one-time assistances and
improve the quality of services in the local community.
Other important challenges in the functioning of CSWs include: case overload, prevalence of a
moderate to severe burnout syndrome among staff, prevalent feelings among staff of being
professionally unacknowledged and marginalized, inadequate working conditions with respect to
office space and the time allocated for direct work with clients and outreach, lack of professional
support in the form of continuous education and supervision.
In conclusion, there is a need for a reorganization of the work of CSWs, adoption of new work
standards and norms, and the introduction of modern tools and techniques for improved assessment
and care planning, including case management methodology.
In view of the above, high level international expertise is required for this assignment.
Purpose and Objective
The purpose of the consultancy is to contribute to the reform, reorganization of CSWs and
standardization of their work in order to enhance CSWs’ effectiveness and efficiency and to
strengthen their gate keeping role.
The objectives of the assignment are:
1. To provide direct support to CSWs and the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare in
conceptualizing the reform of the CSW network;
United Nations Children’s Fund Telephone +382 20 224 277
Vladike Danila 28 Facsimile +382 20 224 278
81 000 Podgorica, Crna Gora www.unicef.org/montenegro
2. To provide technical assistance to MoLSW`s working group in the drafting of regulatory
framework: standards (secondary legislation) on centers for social work;
3. To provide technical assistance in the initial stage of implementation of the new regulations
including in introduction of case management methodology and other modern tools and
techniques for improved assessment and care planning.
Methodology and Technical Approach
The Consultant/s is/are expected to use the following methodology: desk review of relevant
legislation, policy and available documentation and reports on the work of CSWs; consultations
with the representatives of the MoLSW, CSWs and other relevant institutions and stakeholders (e.g.
municipal secretariats for social welfare, NGOs etc/); consultations with the working group that
worked on the development of the new Law on Social and Child Protection; coordination of and
direct work with the working group for the development of Standards/secondary legislation on
Centres for Social Work; participation in public discussions and presentations; preparation of a
mission report.
The Consultant/s is/are expected to work both in the field and from home.
Further details related to methodology are outlined in the following section “Activities and Tasks”.
Activities and Tasks
The tasks that need to be accomplished are as follows:
To review, within the preparatory phase, the current Law on Social and Child Protection (2005)
as well as the working draft of the new Law, the Family Law (2006), the Strategy on the
Development of the Social and Child Protection System (2008-2012), the draft Master Plan of
Transformation of Child Protection Services; and several relevant reports, notably Prof. Dr Dj.
Stakic’s Mission Report (2009), Cristopher Horne’s Study on Social Inclusion, “Lumos” draft
Strategic Review of the System of Caring for Vulnerable Children in Montenegro (2011), and
Prof. Dr N. Zegarac’s Report on the capacities of the centres for social work in Montenegro:
Challenges and possibilities for reorganization (2011) (4 days);
To make reference to international standards in the area of child protection, notably the UNCRC
and UN Guidelines on the Alternative Care of Children, as well as to the Commission Opinion on
Montenegro’s application for membership and the CRC Concluding Observations for
Montenegro;
To communicate with officials from the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare in order to receive
in-depth guidance, as well as with other relevant institutions and stakeholders including Centers
for Social Work;
To communicate with the Government of Montenegro`s responsible officials and UNDP in
Montenegro regarding the comprehensive social transfers system (social card) that is to be
established and in the light of its implications on the reform of the CSWs;
To present the Report on the capacities of the centres for social work in Montenegro: Challenges
and possibilities for reorganization (2011) to the MoLSW; (1 day)
To present the Report on the capacities of the centres for social work in Montenegro: Challenges
and possibilities for reorganization (2011) to the CSWs; (1 day)
To coordinate the work of and provide direct technical assistance to the MLSWs working group
for the development of the Standards/secondary legislation on CSWs; (20 days)
United Nations Children’s Fund Telephone +382 20 224 277
Vladike Danila 28 Facsimile +382 20 224 278
81 000 Podgorica, Crna Gora www.unicef.org/montenegro
To present the draft Standards/secondary legislation on CSWs to national stakeholders (exact
format to be determined); (1 day)
To develop training package for CSWs on introduction of case management methodology and
other modern tools and techniques for improved assessment and care planning; (15 days)
To facilitate implementation of the new regulatory framework through the provision of training
on case management methodology and other modern tools and techniques for improved
assessment and care planning to selected CSWs; (15 days)
To have presentation of the new methodology introduced in selected CSWs at the national
conference (1 day);
To prepare a consultancy report for the Ministry of Labour and Social Work including
recommendations concerning the work of CSWs and future steps; (2 days)
To provide other related assistance as required.
Key Deliverables and Timeframe
The Consultant/s will be engaged for 60 working days in total over a period of eleven months.
The Consultant/s is/are expected to produce the following deliverables by the following tentative
deadlines:
1) Presentation of the Report on the capacities of the centres for social work in Montenegro:
Challenges and possibilities for reorganization (2011) to the MoLSW (beginning of June);
2) Presentation of the Report on the capacities of the centres for social work in Montenegro:
Challenges and possibilities for reorganization (2011) to the CSWs (beginning of June);
3) Draft Standards/secondary legislation on Centres for Social Work, by 1st October 2012;
4) Presentation of the draft Standards/secondary legislation on CSWs to national stakeholders
(exact format to be determined) (beginning of October);
5) Development of the training package for CSWs on introduction of case management
methodology and other modern tools and techniques for improved assessment and care
planning; (end October 2012)
6) Provision of the training in case management methodology and other modern tools and
techniques for improved assessment and care planning to selected CSWs professionals
(November/December 2012, January/February 2013);
7) Presentation of the new methodology introduced in selected CSWs at the national
conference (March 2013)
8) Final consultancy report, by 20 April 2013.
Management and Organisation
Management: The consultant/s will be supervised by the UNICEF Child Protection Officer.
Organization: International consultant/s, at P-4 level, is required for this consultancy. The
consultant/s will be entitled to arrival/departure costs to/from Montenegro (including terminal
expenses) and DSA while in Montenegro.
While in Montenegro, the Consultant/s will be entitled to transportation with UNICEF vehicle when
available for field trips or meetings with counterparts.
The consultant/s’s fee may be reduced if the assignments/deliverables are not fulfilled to the
required standard. In a case of serious dissatisfaction with the consultant/s’s performance the
United Nations Children’s Fund Telephone +382 20 224 277
Vladike Danila 28 Facsimile +382 20 224 278
81 000 Podgorica, Crna Gora www.unicef.org/montenegro
contract may be terminated in line with UNICEF procedure in such matters and as spelled out in
SSA.
Schedule: This assignment will commence on 21st May 2012.
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